Sakura
by bananafrappe
Summary: The Uchiha patriarch swallowed slightly, not sparing a glance for his youngest son as he took quick notes behind the Hokage's back as he continued, revealing the reason for his disquiet. "It as the Fourth predicted, Lord Hokage… Madara leads them."


Sakura

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Yoo hoo! XD yes, it's me again. This brainchild is the product of a gnawing desire to destroy yet another Disney classic, this time Mulan, and I can't wait to get started. I have so many good ideas for this story it's scary. XD The pairing will be ItaSaku, since they are stuck in my head right now and there is none better to play the part of Shang than Itachi, and the rating is M for violence, gore, and coarse language. Once again, I am unsure of whether or not I will someday be including any lemony goodness; it all depends on the tone of the story. I'm thinking it won't be right, though, so don't expect anything. :)_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Disney's Mulan, the legend itself, or any of the Naruto characters contained within this story. I am simply an aspiring author ruining works of art by besmirching their names and good honor according to my whims._

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The cloying, pressing darkness of the falling night all but blinded those foolish enough to still be about at such an hour as that of midnight; thick, roiling clouds veiled the face of the waxing moon while bare glimpses of starlit sky showed for mere seconds before the all-encompassing gloom swallowed them up again. The branches of the forested trees rustled uneasily, seeming to shake in trepidation while an unnatural wind blew through them, howling in its intensity and whipping loose leaves and clinging fog along its path. Shadows stretched to their maximum in the wan light shining from misted windows and shuttered lanterns, and even the voices that dared to disturb the silence were muted and near to silence.

There was a fear present this night, a distress that cut through flesh and bone without a blade and pierced to the very soul without wound, making shivers of knowing fright run down spines and eyes flash wide while those who knew something was amiss searched desperately for the cause of their unease, but knew not what they searched for. The night itself seemed to tremble in anticipation for relief from its curiosity of the heavy atmosphere…

The air this night reeked of fate.

On this most peculiar of nights, far from civilization and creature comforts to take away the chill of the wind and the ache of fatigue, a ninja crouched high in the branches of a poplar tree, languid eyes sweeping the scene of the calm river that separated the most northern border of the Land of Earth from the uncivilized and tangled wilderness across from it. A yawn stretched across the young man's face at the same time as a shiver racked his body, the boredom of watching his designated post nearly making him fall asleep on his feet. He supposed that he should be grateful for this wind… it was the only thing keeping him awake.

Rubbing his drooping eyes with the back of his hand, he shook his head to clear it and once again looked over the unchanged scene of gently swirling water, wind bent grass, and heavy mist with annoyance coloring his gaze. He did not understand why he had been assigned to such a remote and faraway post; no one lived out across the river, in the unknown wilds that did not even have a name. This was a waste of time and resources… surely no one needed to watch a border that hadn't been crossed since the end of the last Shinobi war, which was more than fifteen years passed. Or if it _was_ necessary, then couldn't they send a less skilled ninja than him? He had not ascended to his rank and trained himself to the bone for the greater part of his life to be stuck off in some corner, babysitting a river.

Another yawn distracted him from his bitter thoughts, and with its finishing he decided to retire for the night. No one would know, and besides… what was there to guard from, anyway? Jumping down from his perch and scratching at the back of his neck, he stretched his arms out behind him to crack his spine, taking one last look over the shoreline opposite his position…

And saw one of the shadows barely visible through the fog _move_.

The Rock ninja froze instantly, watching with sharp eyes as the unnaturally large clump of darkness steadily grew larger, presumably drawing nearer to the water's edge. He wanted to believe it was some sort of animal, preferably some kind that would not attack him as soon as it felt his presence, but knew that his hopes were unfounded. The being or beings that were approaching made none of the sounds that an animal would as it made its way along the forest floor… it wasn't making any noise at all, actually.

He took a cautious step backwards as the approach of the shadows didn't halt, the shape slowly solidifying into six distinct and separate forms as they drew ever closer. He would not bet his life on it… but he could swear that he heard, from the dark depths of the mist the shadows moved within, the hissing of snakes, the rustling of living plant life, the clinking of metal, and the most strange and disturbing of all… cold, malicious laughter.

He swallowed heavily, breaths becoming quick as his heart beat faster in his chest, and that was when the wind suddenly changed direction, whipping from behind him and across the river in a rush that knocked the man a step forward. The surge in the chakra signals that he could now detect from across the river indicated that at least one of the approaching beings was a trained and highly skilled shinobi (a wind release technique of such a caliber to call so much air to one's self was something that he had never even _seen_ himself, much less could perform), and this was enough reason for him to begin to consider running while he still could.

If the called wind hadn't swept away the fog and revealed the identities of the forms across the river from him, he might have done so.

Six men stood casually on the opposite bank of the swirling water, each of them looking over his position and obvious fear with varying degrees of amusement, contempt, or complete indifference. Each was more paralyzing and terrifying than the last; the orange haired man on the far left sported eerily ringed eyes that glowed in the bare light offered by the nearly hidden moon as readily as the many piercings decorating his face. Another's skin was marred by extensive scarring and obvious yet crude attempts at stitching, and the pale, red eyed man beside him, toying tauntingly with the ends of a three pronged scythe, was taking obvious pleasure in the nicks the sharp blades were making in his fingers and hands. A being that he hesitated to call a man had strange, two toned skin, seemingly caught between the leaves of a man-eating plant, and the creature beside him, a skeletally thin and long haired man, had a snake curled around his shoulders that seemed to sprout from his own body.

The worst of all, however, was the man who stood in the midst of the frighteningly powerful shinobi (it was not difficult to gauge their power or status now, with them being so close and obviously letting him feel the true heights of their powers); out of the group of men, he was the only one that the Rock nin actually recognized. Long, spiked ebony hair hung down around the back and shoulders of gleaming red armor, the mist itself seeming to avoid his presence and cutting a swath around his wide stance. A pleased and conceited smirk graced a pale face, and smug satisfaction glowed from swirling red and black eyes that seemed to stare straight to the soul.

The Rock ninja fell backwards in his shock, stumbling into the tree he had been hiding in earlier jarringly hard and reaching tremulously for the summon scroll tucked in his belt. He seemed unable to swallow or breathe right, his throat clenched just as tightly as his heart was, and barely intelligible whimpers fell from his lips as the name of the grinning individual across the water from him trickled slowly between them.

"U-uchi-h-ha Ma-a-dar-ra…"

The hailed man's leer merely widened in response, and with an acknowledging shrug, he flicked his fingers to the side quickly, sending a mysterious signal the one of his men. Quicker than light can travel the orange haired, pierced man on the left disappeared, and with an instinctual knowledge of the unseen lending its hand, the sentinel ducked to the side and down, narrowly missing losing his head to a wash of concentrated air that cut halfway through the tree where his neck had been a hair of a second earlier, the swirled grey eyes of the man having wielded the jutsu meeting his without emotion or pity. Blood slithered down the length of his neck where he had been grazed by the very end of the attack, and without having to think about it twice, the Rock nin turned tail and fled into the clinging shadows of the forest behind him, speeding his footsteps with as much chakra as he could spare and scrambling to extract the summon scroll from its confinement.

The edge of that ghostly blade had been meant to end his life, and he wasn't going to stick around for the second attempt on it. He had to warn everyone of the danger, _now_.

He immediately felt himself being pursued, dodging around tree trunks and throwing kunai into the darkness behind him as often as he dared in his desperate flight (he didn't even bother with a shadow clone jutsu; there was no time, and he was sure that they would not be fooled long enough to make up for the effort). He knew that he had little time to send the necessary message; he was not so foolish as to underestimate the prowess of others, and if the ninja that were quickly gaining on him caught him before he could send the message, it would never get sent. He was going to die tonight, and he knew it; the only question was how long he could prolong that moment and how much he could get done before it happened.

Now he understood why a shinobi of his rank had been sent to guard the river's edge, he thought as he adeptly sidestepped a swing from the cruelly sharp scythe he had seen being petted earlier, throwing a quickly tied together exploding tag behind him and satisfactorily hearing a grunt of pain in addition to the explosion. A lower ranked ninja wouldn't have survived the first assault, much less live long enough to send the message or fight off any further attacks. He also understood why he had been firmly instructed to send a message to both Iwa and Konoha if someone, _anyone_, were to cross the waters of the river; the banished Uchiha would head straight to the Land of Fire, and thereafter the Village Hidden in the Leaves, and either reclaim what he considered rightfully his or destroy it entirely.

Dodging to the side again and narrowly avoiding being throttled by a length of deep scarlet hued vines that sprang out of the shadows to his immediate front, he quickly formed the hand signals that would throw up a slanted wall of stone in front of himself, which he used as a springboard to sail straight over the unseen danger ahead and kept running, finally successfully ripping the scroll from his side and throwing it open hastily. After a quick glance over his shoulder at the angry growl his action caused, he ran a finger down the side of his dripping neck, the burning in his lungs and dizziness he felt from the blood loss of his nicked artery ignored far easier than the six dark shadows he had seen behind him.

Quickly and sloppily forming the kanji necessary to summon his spirit allies, he felt more than heard the approach of another attack and ran up the trunk of the tree in front of him, barely avoiding being vaporized on the spot by a searing fireball twice his size. The Katon jutsu exploded against the wood deafeningly and sent flashes of blinding light through the entire forest while the tree it had hit snapped cleanly in half, the Rock nin barely having the time to jump from its branches in time to escape its fall.

His breaths were labored and distinctly fearful now as he flashed from branch to branch as quickly as possible, waiting expectantly and anxiously for the appearance of the creatures as they rushed to aid him, forced to dodge more and more long distance attacks as the seconds passed and the pursuit grew more heated. Just as he was beginning to despair help a loud popping noise sounded and a puff of grey smoke appeared in front of him, two sparrows flying out of it and whipping along beside him excitedly.

"So you _were_ trying to call us!" one of them chirped happily, zooming tight circles around his head as it flew, and the other did a loop de loop around the branch the ninja jumped onto next, casting a wary eye over its summoner. "If we hadn't been curious, we wouldn't have come at all. You totally spelled your own name wrong, and…"

The chiding of the small bird was interrupted as a dozen kunai lodged handle deep in the wood where the ninja's hand had rested for a moment, the creatures squawking in fright and flying about even quicker in their alarm. "Are you being attacked? Why didn't you say something?" the first bird admonished, and the Rock ninja shook his head quickly, eyes wild as he quickly jumped to another branch to save himself from another slice of the scythe. "Just shut up, you two! There's no time! I need for you two to carry a message for me; it is of the upmost importance. Now listen: Uchiha Madara has returned, and he comes with the same intent as the first time. Lanicross, take your message to Iwa. Veloxi, fly for Konoha and tell anyone you can. _Go_!" he whispered urgently before he was finally struck, his distracted state making him pause long enough for the bolt of lightning slicing through the trees behind him to strike him squarely in the back.

A yelp of excruciating pain ripped from his lips as raw electricity arched through his body, making the strength leave his limbs and lose his footing, slipping from the branch he stood on to fall heavily to the forest floor below. He landed at the base of the large pine with a sickening crunch, a groan leaking from him as more of his bones snapped. An unnatural silence fell after his plummet, even the creatures of the forest that had dared to make themselves known before quiet in response to the fight; only the pained whimpers of the incapacitated man lying in the only patch of moonlight visible rang out in the darkness of the shadowed woodlands.

Many long minutes passed as the silence stretched around the trembling limbs of the Rock nin, and he was just beginning to wonder, if not hoping, that he had been left behind, disregarded and no longer a threat because of his injuries, when the rustle of manmade cloth reached his ears, the slight sound making him look up sharply at the six tall shadows he lay at the feet of. Each and every one of their gazes were focused on him, most narrowed in apparent anger and annoyance, though the red and black tomoed eyes in the middle of the group remained passive.

A snarl of irritation rang out from the right, and a swift and hard kick was delivered into the ninja's already broken ribs, jerking a moan and a cough reddened by blood from him as he curled up, trying to protect himself. "Piece of fucking shit… do you even have any fucking idea how long it's going to take to grow my fucking eyebrows back? You weak little _fucker_, throwing a fucking exploding tag in my face… I wouldn't even sacrifice your worthless hide to Jashin," an acerbic voice that, presumably, matched the other pair of red eyes in the group said, and a heavy sigh responded to his sentiments, the unnervingly glowing greenish silver eyes next to the narrowed red closing in exasperation. "Hidan, _control_. You forget yourself and show weaknesses in front of the enemy; do not lose your head."

A snicker rang out from the left, and a low hissing noise accompanied the sound as the red eyed man, apparently named Hidan, glared across the expanse at the reprobate. "What's so fucking funny, Orochimaru? You got something to fucking say?" The man being cursed at showed no sign of offense, however, golden and slitted eyes glittering with amusement. "I merely find irony in Kakuzu's comment, Hidan. After all, losing your head is something you are quite adept at… in more than one way."

The man named Hidan growled low in his chest, a violent movement in the shadows revealing his sudden lunge towards the chuckling snake Saanin. "Where the _fuck_ do you get off…" he began, intent obvious as a clenched fist swung into the ray of moonlight the injured and silently observant ninja lay in, but the scarred man beside him, titled Kakuzu, grabbed onto his arm warningly, eyes glancing down at the nin's position warily. "Hidan, that is _enough_. You reveal too much in the presence of one who listens carefully."

A low cough came from the position directly beside the so far silent Uchiha, two bright yellow irises looking down on his body with an emotion that he dared only identify as _hunger_. "I would not worry about him carrying any information away from this gathering, Kakuzu; his life force grows dimmer the longer we speak." Strangely, another voice from his direction spoke following his assumption, a dark and gravelly tone that sent a shiver down the Rock ninja's spine. "_**Perhaps when he passes, there will be time to make use of his wasted body…**_"

He didn't want to think about what that statement could possibly mean.

Luckily, he was saved from doing so as a gentle sigh came from where Madara stood silently, the red and black eyes closing for a moment. "We are wasting valuable time, friends. We have but one reason for returning here…" The Sharingan eyes opened again, turning to face the only shadow that had not spoken yet. "Were the summons apprehended, Pein?" The ring eyed man narrowed his gaze slightly before looking away from his leader's gaze. "No, Madara-sama. One attacked with the intent to distract me and allow its partner to gain purchase through my attentions, and though it died for its efforts, the other escaped and has fled to Iwa. I could not find it in time to stop it."

The Rock ninja crumpled at their feet let out a relieved and shaky laugh, trying to hold back the coughs that made dark red blood gush between his lips. He managed to sit up enough to meet the gazes now locked on him, and he did so defiantly. "Good. Now the Tsuchikage will know that you are here, and soon, so will all of the rest of the nations. They will stand against you, Uchiha Madara. We will not allow you to take over us, and you will be stopped."

The red, soul sucking gaze remained stoic for a few moments before an obvious grin lifted the edges of his gaze up, a strong hand stretching across the moonlight to close around his throat and lifting him up as easily as if he were a doll. Amusement lit the face of the interloper as he stepped into the light, and his grip tightened as he leaned forward, as if about to share a secret with a close and trusted friend instead of the dying man in his grasp. "Do you think that this will hinder me? Worry not friend… I am pleased by this. Perhaps my allies and I will be met with a challenge worth our strength instead of the simple takeover I had truly not been looking forward to. I shall have to recruit some extra help, of course, but that is never difficult to find with the power of fear and the promise of a new, better dawn behind us. Much blood will be spilt through the efforts you have gone to… I thank you." Madara muttered pleasantly before quickly and efficiently snapping the man's neck with a flick of his wrist, letting the lifeless corpse drop to the ground afterwards.

A second was spent looking over the body of the man who had announced their arrival, some gazes cruel, others considering, and others merely bored, before Madara gave a short nod and turned away, sweeping a black cloak infused with red, swirling clouds on it after him. This was the only signal that the others needed to melt into the darkness as well, vanishing from sight faster than the naked eye can see and leaving the broken body of the Rock ninja to rot in the cold, empty forest, his hand still clenched tightly around the summon scroll that may or may not have just saved the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

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Uchiha Fugaku's steps were rushed and, while to most seemingly precise, frenzied in his haste as he climbed the path to the third Hokage's home. he glanced warily up at the ominously building clouds on the horizon over Hokage mountain for a moment, shining threateningly under the light of a half moon, before the Uchiha clan leader knocked quickly and insistently on the doorjamb of the door he had stopped before, waiting impatiently for one of the forms he could see moving behind the lighted window to come answer the door.

The response was not instantaneous, but it was quick enough for his purposes, a crack opening as the man behind the obstacle looked out to see who it was at the door at this hour. A considering and sharp obsidian iris moved over the face of the man standing there before the door was thrown open, the young man bowing formally before standing back to let his father inside, instantly catching on to the tenseness of his posture. "Otou-san, what is the matter? Has something happened?" the spike haired Sharingan wielder queried, closing the door and following after his father as he walked quickly down the hallway to the room where the Third Hokage sat at his desk, reading over some last minute paperwork that he had forgotten.

Sarutobi Hiruzen looked up from his perusal of the repair orders for one of the outer walls, alarm at the sudden and rushed appearance of one of his greatest military leaders making itself apparent on his face. "What is it, Fugaku? You seem distressed." The man nodded hurriedly, bowing quickly and politely before holding out a tattered scroll, fingers barely held back from shaking with the pride that constantly shadowed him. As the withered Hokage took the scroll from him and unrolled it, he began to speak. "I received that message only a few minutes ago, via messenger hawk from Iwakagure. A group of missing-nins have moved across the Northern River and attacked the sentinel there, trying to keep him from sending the message that would alert Rock of their coming."

The Hokage nodded, making a continue motion with his hand as he looked over the message. "I see, but I do not understand your rush or anxiety, Fugaku." The Uchiha patriarch swallowed slightly, not sparing a glance for his youngest son as he took quick notes behind the Hokage's back as he continued, revealing the reason for his disquiet. "It as the Fourth predicted, Lord Hokage… Madara leads them."

Aged yet piercing eyes flashed up to meet tired and fearful ones, hardening as the old man stood up. "He will attack with the intent to reclaim what was never his. We must stop him." Fugaku nodded, instantly switching over to a more professional air as he found something with which to distract his worried mind. "Yes, Hokage-sama. We will use all possible force to keep you safe…" Sarutobi shook his head immediately, slamming a fist onto the desktop and making his pen roll off the top, falling to the floor unheeded. "No. The people of this city need more protection than I do, and they will be the ones hurt the most. Gather all of the shinobi that you can from their missions; call the ANBU forces home and cancel all missions. Sasuke, send messages to the other nations requesting any ninja that they have to spare… we can train any that are lacking."

Fugaku's eyebrows drew together at this, clearing his throat and drawing the attention of the other two men. "Pardon me, Lord Hokage, but… I believe that the Leaf ninja that we have will be enough to protect the city." The Hokage shook his head again, folding his arms and motioning for the younger Uchiha to keep writing. "A single man could make all the difference, Fugaku. A single grain of rice is all that it could take to tip the scales, and I am unwilling to take any chances against Madara. I will want you to lead a force outside the city to try to head him off while his allies are still so few; do you have a trusted lieutenant that can train those unprepared for war while you are gone?"

The Uchiha clan leader's eyes flashed in the light shining from the lantern on the Hokage's desk, a small smirk lifting his lips up. "Yes, Hokage-sama. I think that it is high time he received his chance to prove himself as it is, and this is just the opportunity he needs." Sarutobi nodded, looking over his shoulder at Sasuke. "Sasuke, I will need for you to alert all of the ninja community tomorrow and deliver a summons to each of the separate families; one man from every home will need to come forward, whether they are retired or active status, and should report to the city gate the day after tomorrow for wartime training." Sasuke immediately scribbled down some more notes before nodding, bowing and hurrying from the room with a respectful parting farewell to his father.

The steadily rising moon looked down on the shadows it cast across the earth with seeming sadness, casting its reflected light on good and evil alike without discrimination. The ninja that sprung silently and deftly through the treetops of the most northern forests in Rock country gleaned just as much sight from its presence as the youngest Uchiha male did as he walked hurriedly through the Third Hokage's door and out onto the path leading to town. The night no longer seemed as cold as it had been; perhaps because the unknown was now acknowledged, or the heat of action had sped the land's heart into greater warmth… maybe it was just because the wind had stopped blowing. Whatever the case, those that were still awake knew that a change had been made, choices decided and paths taken, that would change their lives forever.

If they had only known it was just the beginning.

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Wooowww… I actually kind of liked that. Not bad, Amber… not bad. XD it was difficult, shaping a Chinese myth into the Japanese world, but it's not like I could even dare to attempt to merge them. That would be incredibly offensive, I can guess, and I have no desire to piss off my Asian audience. Anyway, that's chapter one done… now on to the writing I'm supposed to be doing. ALAWBSL shall be updated soon! Drop me a review if you've go the time, and thanks for reading!  
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